The Department of State Security Services, DSS, which is under the Executive control of President Muhammadu Buhari, has discovered billions of Naira, in a suspicious bank account, being operated by the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

The DSS, is currently probing seven Judges, two of them Justices of the apex court, for alleged corruption.

The account, the Nation gathered authoritatively, is being operated outside the civil service procedures.

Money from it was also said to have been withdrawn regularly, to fund foreign travels of some Judges.

The DSS is now investigating how, and for what reason(s) the account was opened.

The DSS has already restricted the movement of the Registrar of the Supreme Court, Ahmed Saleh, and some top officials, to the country, on account of its investigation of the suspicious account.

Also restricted, are the Directors of Finance, Muhammed Abdulrahman Sharif, and Rilwanu Lawal.

Only last Thursday, the Federal Government filed a nine-count charge of diversion of N2.2 billion, against the three top officials.

A highly placed source said: “In line with the current investigation of some Judges, the DSS has discovered a suspicious account in the Supreme Court. The modalities for the operation of the account allegedly against the extant financial regulations, were being probed by the security agency.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspicious account was used to cater for foreign trips of some Judges, including a few ones who were arrested by the DSS.

“The remittances into the account were in billions of Naira. There is a strong suspicion by the DSS, that the dollars seized from the residences of some of these Judges, were drawn from the suspicious account.

“Some principal officers have been interrogated by the secret service. The manner in which the account was operated, was suspected to be outside the extant laws in the civil service.

“It is left to the civil servants, to prove that the processes of opening the account, and managing it, were legal and transparent. Otherwise, they have a case to answer.”

Another source, said one of the officials was intercepted at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, while trying to travel out of the country for a conference.

“None of the officials can travel out, until the ongoing investigation is completed,” the source said.